22 November 2013

a subjective review of the recent film for television by the editor of The Terrible Zodin (so don't blame anyone else for it)

Back when I'd heard about An Adventure in Time and Space being
written by Mark Gatiss, I had bittersweet feelings, because I knew
this TV version would hog all the glory and everyone would think I
had ripped it off to write Verity Lambert, 28,
even though I knew in my heart my audio play versionwould be just as
good and at least as original (haha, if you can't big yourself up,
who else will?). AAiTaS was
quite enjoyable, and I'm glad to report that though it shared many
things in common with VL28, it's
quite obvious to say that AAiTaS is
William Hartnell's story and VL28 is,
obviously, Verity Lambert's story. It's obviously taken advantage of
Jessica Carney's moving and interesting biography of her grandfather,
William Hartnell, which is no bad thing at all—in fact, I do hope
someone (ME!) writes a biopic of Hartnell that covers the period
leading up to Doctor Who, in
particular his earliest years through his 30s, which are quite
fascinating.

AAiTaS is also a big
cheese-fest, and in that sense it feels more Christmas-y to me than
many a Doctor Who Christmas
Special. This is due in part to the syrupy music by Edmund Butt
which goes for overkill many-a-time when it should be calming the
hell down. Despite the inherent sadness in the story they've chosen
to tell (which, let's face it, hits a Who fan
in the core of his or her heart; calculated
tugging-o'-the-heartstrings), much of the programme has a light
touch. Certainly there are dramatic moments, but, aside from the
Hartnell conflicts, things waft along with hardly an obstacle (aside
from a few racist and sexist minor characters). However, I, too,
wafted along with a glazy-eyed smile most of the time—it was
entertainment. And mostly true, too—at least from the research
I've done.

I liked that there was a pally
relationship envisioned between Verity and Waris Hussein, something
in my gut I felt existed, too, and indeed Jessica Raine and Sacha
Dhawan, respectively, were exactly as I had imagined the characters
in my mind when I wrote them. Indeed, there are two scenes from
AAiTaS that really
stick out because, if I didn't know better, I would have said Mark
Gatiss was reading my script from over my shoulder. These are the
party scene that introduces us to both Verity and Jackie Hill (Jemma
Powell), similar in a lot of ways to the party scene I had written in
VL28. Amazingly
similar—down to lines of dialogue like “We've got to stick this
out together”--was the scene at the pub in which Verity and Waris
bond to fight the Establishment. Granted, Gatiss' Verity reacts a
lot more lightheartedly to hints that Waris is gay than my Verity
did. I enjoyed their camaraderie in AAiTaS and
could sense that the programme-makers didn't want this partnership to
end after “Marco Polo” either.

I loved all the scenes set in the
Hartnells' house, which looked exactly like I pictured it (though
that must be due to Carney's photos in the book). I loved that
Carney herself was there with her Sanpaw, and I loved the way the
relationship with Heather Hartnell was established. Okay, for all
the cheese, I did get a tear in my eye when Hartnell broke down with
an “I don't want to go.” David Bradley made an excellent
Hartnell. I do hope Carney's book is getting back in print because
she is going to make a mint after this programme.

As did VL28, AAiTaS had to make
judicious choices about cutting down its production team cast. It
foregrounded Carole Ann Ford (Claudia Grant) and her relationship
with Hartnell (as did VL28),
though it's a shame we didn't get to see this relationship extended
with Maureen O'Brien. Jeff Rawle was great fun as Mervyn Pinfield,
the voice of reason (“My dear lady”), though where on Earth was
Donald Wilson? And for that matter, David Whitaker? As Verity
herself said in AAiTaS, so
many people were there for Doctor Who's
birth—flying credits due to Brian Hodgson, Delia Derbyshire, and
Bernard Lodge—that not everyone could get crammed in. However,
upon one thing I think we can agree: Brian Cox's was a star turn as
Sydney Newman. And yes, he did say Verity was full of “piss and
vinegar,” he did take them to lunch at a Chinese restaurant and
tell them to shoot the pilot again, he did call up Verity and ask her
what she knew about children. And Rex Tucker, at least from Verity's
recollections, was a real jerk; and the sprinklers did go off in
Studio D Lime Grove if it got too hot; Peter Brachacki did drag his
feet on designing the TARDIS interior (though, to be fair, that was a
brilliant scene). So, as far as I can tell, Gatiss didn't have much
to invent. The story is a good one, and it's there to begin with.
But certainly the framing narrative and the ability to condense four
years into a few moments was a good way to summarize the heart of the
Hartnell story.

There were some excellent moments
from director Terry McDonogh: gazing up inside the Dalek shell will
no doubt have delighted many, as will the Daleks on Westminster
Bridge and the many views of BBC Television Centre. Playful
blink-and-you'll-miss-them touches abounded, “Tenth Planet”
Cybermen and Menoptera smoking being but a few. It was great fun to
see the cameos (Carole Ann Ford, Anneke Wills, Jean Marsh, Nicholas
Briggs, Tony Robinson, though I confess I completely missed the
William Russell one—shame on me!). And certainly the BBC knows how
to recreate the BBC from 1963 as only the BBC can! Definitely going
to need to do some Verity Lambert paper dolls; as she said herself,
the woman could shop for England! And oh yes, managed to figure out
that the farewell party to Verity was filmed in the Tivoli Ballroom,
near where I live.

Though I get the drift of trying
to describe visually and in a few seconds the way Hartnell said he
knew Doctor Who would
go on forever, Matt Smith making a guest appearance was like so much
cheese as to make a cheese-vomit sandwich. IMHO. And the Patrick
Troughton bits felt very alien; that's a whole different story,
surely? (A dramatisation of Michael Troughton's biography would make
a bombshell companion piece of AaiTaS.)

I hope it doesn't seem like sour grapes
that I keep bringing up the parallels to VL28 (I'm only
human, after all). I guess I should take it as a compliment that Gatiss and I had many similar ideas of how to tell this story. Time will tell
(haha!) if this dramatisation cloys with age, but I found it to be an
ego-caressing (mine!) enjoyable piece of entertainment.

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